The Urban Life
by mikeslikb
Summary: CH. 3 UP! Take a step into the future of Hillwood City and get to know the original neighborhood kids as adults. A lot is different, but some things never change! Arnold, Helga, Gerald, Phoebe and more - all in a darker, more adult world! TJM never hapnd
1. Return Home

**The Urban Life**

by Mike F.

Inspired by the "Hey-Arnold" series by Craig Bartlett

A/N: The kids of P.S. 118 of Hillwood City are no long kids! Almost twenty five years later, Arnold is returning home from his time working in war torn Darfur with Doctors Without Borders. But now he's back and ready to start his life in the city he was raised in. Follow as the future and the past twenty five years unravel as the lives of Arnold, Helga, Gerald, Phoebe and the many other familiar faces cross and collide in the neighborhood and city they grew up in!

The taxi-cab stops in front of the Sunset Arms Boarding House; in the middle of the street, a three story, red brick building dating back to the mid 1800's.

"That's-a thirty-three fifty, Mac." the cabby says.

He hands him a fifty dollar bill, "keep the change." he says, opening the door, grabbing his suitcase and hopping out of the cab.

The driver pulls away and the male in his late twenties is left standing there, at the curb of his childhood home, looking up. He takes a second to examine the building, looking for any signs of change. But no, not one thing looks different. The front door was still green, and the sign next to it still read: No Kids, Pets OK. He smirks as he remembers his past.

_The young football-headed kid opens the large, green front door_ _of his apartment house. A hoard of pets, cats, dogs and even a pig come charging out to the street in front of him._

_"Hey Arnold, come on!" his friend yells, standing at the foot of his stoop. _

He knew he was home. He walked up the five steps to the front door, reaching for the brass door knob. He took a deep breath and opened the door. As soon as he pushed the door in, the waiting animals did their usual and charged past him, out to the streets of the city. He smiled, feeling the happiness of nostalgia and seeing his pet pig, Abner is still going strong. The door enters to a fouer, followed to a long hallway where the stairs begin, but leads to the livingroom on the left and at the end of the hall is the kitchen.

He shuts the door and puts his suitcase down, then removing his brown leather jacket and hanging it up. He can't help but smile as he looks down the hall and notices that the kitchen still has the same blue and white tiling and same green wallpaper. No one seemed to be around. He took a few steps before noticing that his grandfather was sitting in the chair in the livingroom, sleeping.

Arnold walks over to the frail, bald old man and sits on the coffee table next to the reclining chair.

"Grandpa..." Arnold says, tapping his grandfather's right knee. "Grandpa..."

The old man's eye lids slowly lifted up. "Arnold," he said with a weak smile. "You're home!"

Arnold nodded and leaned in, giving Grandpa Phil a long await embrace. "I missed you so much, Grandpa!"

"Oh, Arnold - it was you who was missed!"

The two parted from their embrace, but Grandpa took his grandson's hands in his and held tightly as if Arnold would be pulled away from him.

Arnold shed tears he knew he wouldn't be able to hold back. "How's Grandma? Where is she?" he said looking around.

"Ah, you know your grandmother - she's over a hundred years old, still going strong and crazier than ever!"

Arnold laughed, "That's the Grandma, I know."

"Arnold, where have you been the last seven years? Everyone thought you were dead! Well, everyone but your grandmother and I, of course."

"I know, Grandpa. I'm sorry for not writing and letting you all assume the worst..."

Grandpa Phil interrupted his grandson, "We know you had your reasons, son. Whatever it was, you had your reasons. Just like your parents. But at least you're home now!"

He pulled Arnold into another hug. "Oh Arnold, how we've missed you."

"As I live and breathe!" was heard from behind Arnold from an old, familiar voice.

Arnold and Grandpa Phil separated and Arnold turned around.

"Look, Pookie - our boy is home! Arnold is home!"Grandpa Phil yelled.

Arnold jumped up and ran to Grandma Gertie. "Grandma!" he said as the two embraced. "I missed you so much!"

"Ah, Sambah. I knew you'd return one day!" she said as if she suddenly understood peace in this moment. "Let me get a good look at you." she said as they separated. "Same short, blonde, gell-spiked hair when you left... same round beautiful eyes, small shoulders and skinny physique. It sure is you, Sambah."

Grandpa Phil grabs the cane next to his chair and stands up, walking past Arnold and Grandma Gertie. He stops in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey - Arnold's home! Everybody - Arnold's home!"

The landlord's voice echoed through the old boarding house. No one could really make out what was being said, all they could hear was the yelling from in their rooms.

"Why-is-the-old-man-yelling?" asked a fast talking elderly Vietnamese man opening the door to his room.

Across the hall, another elderly, yet shorter man opened his door. "What's all the yellin' goin' on about?"

Next door to the midget-like man, an older Vietnamese woman opened her door. "What's going on?"

"Arnold's home! It's Arnold!" Phil yelled again.

"What-did-he-say?" asked the Vietnamese man.

"Ardecrome?" asked the shorter man.

"No, Mr. Potts! Daddy, Arnold's home!" she yelled as she ran past her father and Mr. Potts and down the stairs.

From the kitchen emerged a young teenage girl with curly brown hair, her father's big round eyes, and her mother's nose. "Arnold's home?!" she came running into the livingroom. "Arnold!"

"Jenny?!" Arnold said in amazement. "What are you doing here?"

Jenny jumped and hugged Arnold - the boy who often babysat her as a child. He was like her big brother. "We thought you were dead! I can't believe you're alive!"

"Arnold!" yelled the Vietnamese woman as she came running down the stairs.

"Mia!" Arnold said before they embraced. "And Mr. Hyunh! Mr. Potts!" he yelled, seeing them coming down the stairs.

"Arnold!" they both said at the same time.

"Watch it, old man!" the midget Mr. Potts yelled as he tried to hold onto the banister and making down before Mr. Hyunh.

"You-watch-it-you-ol'-fool!" yelled Mr. Hyunh as he ran around Mr. Potts, holding the wall at his left for balance.

"Why the heck were ya racin' me for?"

The two men simultaneously took a step, speeding up until they made it to the fifth to last step when Mr. Potts shoves Mr. Hyunh and he pushes back - they both tumble down the last five steps to the wooden floor. "Ah! Ouch! Ow!" the two yelled as they hit the bottom.

"Daddy!" Mia yelled, running over to him.

"Mr. Potts, are you okay?" Arnold said as he knelt down before the bald old man.

"Ah, no! Now someone's got a broken hip. Pookie, call an ambulance." Grandpa Phil said as he turned and walked down the hall to the kitchen.

"Thankfully we have Arnold here!" Jenny said with a smile and look of pride on her face.

"Mr. Potts, does this hurt?" Arnold asked as he moved his legs.

"No, Arnold."

"Well, it's not a broken hip." Arnold said as he helped Mr. Potts back on his feet.

"Ah!"

"What is it? Your head? You might have a concussion." Arnold said.

"No, no. It's my ankle. I twisted it." Mr Potts explained. "If it wasn't for that Vietnames red-neck..."

"Bring the dwarf to the chair, Sambah." Grandma said as she helped Arnold with Mr. Potts to Grandpa's recliner.

Grandpa Phil came back into the livingroom with two glasses filled with Brandy. "Ah, now don't put 'em in my chair! I was just gonna sit there!"

"It's just for a second, Grandpa." Arnold said as he rushed over to Mr. Hyunh who was still laying on the floor, surrounded by Jenny and Mia. "Mr. Hyunh, are you in any pain?"

"Oh-Arnold! It's-so-good-to-see-you. After-all-this-time!" Mr. Hyunh said with a big smile on his face.

"I guess you got your answer." Jenny joked.

"It's great to see you too, Mr. Hyunh. Does this hurt?" he asks as he moves his legs.

"They-say-you-were-dead!" he replied.

"I'm not dead, Mr. Hyunh. I'm back... for good." he said smiling. "Alright Mr. Hyunh, let's stand up."

Arnold and Mia helped Mr. Hyunh back to his feet when he cried out in pain.

"What is it, Daddy?" Mia asked.

"My-ankle! I-think-I-twisted-it!" he cried out.

Arnold and Mia help him to the other chair, directly across from Mr. Potts.

"You're both nearly seventy, you fall down a half of flight of stairs and all you have is a twisted ankle?" Grandpa Phil said.

"You're lucky all you got was a twisted ankle. It could've been much worse." Arnold said.

"At least we would've had you here, Arnold." said Jenny.

"If the former Mexican cook wasn't racin' me down the stairs in the first place..." Mr Potts said.

"Thirty-years-I-live-with-this-man-and-he-still-has'n-_grown-up_!"

"Whad you say, you retired country singin' _cocinero_?" Mr. Potts asked as he struggled to get out of the chair. "I oughtta bulldoze you like I did that awful Mexican restaurant!"

"Mr. Potts stop!" Arnold says, trying to prevent any sort of fight. "You'll hurt yourself!"

"Bring-it-with-your-metal-plated-skull!" Mr Hyunh exclaimed as he tried himself to stand up.

"Daddy, cut it out!" Mia yelled.

Grandma Gertie puts her arm around Arnold's shoulders. "You haven't missed much, Sambah."

Arnold smiled almost nervously and watched as the two men yelled at each other back and forth and struggled to get out of their chairs.

"Let me at 'em!" Mr. Potts said as he tried to pull himself up.

"Help-up-your-father-Mia!" yelled Mr. Hyunh.

"Daddy, stop!"

"I'll kick your guitar playing bum across this livingroom!"

"I-choke-you-with-your-suspenders!"

"Ah, shut up!" Grandpa Phil yelled, standing in the center of the livingroom and throwing the drinks in his hands at Mr. Potts and Mr. Hyunh; the drink in his left hand soaking Mr Hyunh and the drink in his right splashing all over Mr. Potts.

Everyone stood in silence for a moment after that. Mr. Hyunh and Mr. Potts were both in shock as was everyone else. The shock wore off quickly and the two arguing men shifted their anger from each other to the "old man".

"You lousy old landlord!" Mr. Potts yelled. "Is that Brandy I taste?"

"What-did-he-do-that-for? The-old-man-is-crazy!" Mr Hyunh yelled.

Grandpa Phil shook his head and walked back out of the livingroom and to the kitchen, ignoring both of the comments.

"Come on, Daddy. Come upstairs and change your wet clothes." Mia said, helping her father up and over to the stairs.

"I'm sixty-eight years old and the old man throws Brandy on me! It's the beginning of winter - what does he want me to catch pneumonia?" Mr. Potts complained. "With the cheap heating in this place, it's not unlikely."

"Maybe if you got pneumonia, we'd have some peace around here." Grandma Gertie whispered under her breath.

"Grandma!" Arnold said in disapprovement. "Come on, Mr. Potts." he said as he helped him up.

"Come on, Mr. Potts. I'll help you upstairs." Jenny said, taking the old man off Arnold's hands.

"Arnold," Mr Potts said, grabbing his arm. "I'm so glad you're back! I knew you weren't dead! I'm sorry your welcome home was ruined by the old cocinero - Hyunh."

"It's okay, Mr. Potts. It's good to see you too. I hope you're okay after that spill."

"I'll be alright." he said as Jenny helped him up the stairs.

Arnold turned to Grandma Gertie who wrapped her arms around him. "It's so good to finally have you home, Arnold."

Arnold and Grandma Gertie sit at the table in the kitchen while Grandpa pours tea for her. He puts the tea in front of her and then passes Arnold one of the two empty glasses on the table. Arnold and Gertie are deep in conversation and he doesn't notice this.

"So other than Roscoe's Funky Rags and El Patio, what other places are gone?" Arnold asked.

"Uuuuuh...Oh, Slausen's Ice Cream Parlor went out of business two - or was it three years ago? Hm... I was getting my appendix removed... or was I getting that blood clot removed? Yeah! I was getting my appendix removed." she laughs. "I wanted to take it out myself, but Ol' Steely insisted a hospital be the proper environment."

Arnold gives his grandmother an odd look as she smiles at him with her wrinkled skin and completely white hair. Grandpa fills Arnold's glass with some Brandy and then pours some for himself and puts the bottle down on the table.

"Uh, Grandpa - this isn't tea." Arnold says.

"Oh, Arnold. Have a drink with your poor old grandpa. I know you never touch the stuff, but come on. It's a cause for celebration!" Phil insisted as they shared a cheers and took a sip.

"Actually, Grandpa I haven't had a drink in seven years. Not since the night before I left... with you ironically."

"They really tortured you out there, huh?" Grandpa said.

Arnold and Grandpa Phil traded stares, but Arnold never answered. Grandma Gertie just sat there.

"Where's my drink?" asked Grandma.

Grandpa laughed. "Haha, Arnold you're not the only one whose last drink was the night of your going away party."

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him." Gertie whispered.

"Don't you remember?" he asked Arnold.

"Uh, yeah. I thought she was acting..." he struggled to find the words. "a lot more passive?"

"Normal!" Grandma yelled out.

"Too damn normal for me!" Grandpa said as he took a swig of his filled glass.

"Your grandfather loves a wild woman!" she said as her and Phil traded passionate stares.

"So how did Slausen's go out of business? They were so popular." Arnold asked, changing the subject.

"Ah, Sambah. Some find luck when they least expect it. And sometimes they're not so deserving." Grandma Gertie said.

"That old grump, Willie the Jolly Olly Man finally won the lottery. He stopped driving the truck and opened up his own ice cream parlor - Willie Olly's Jolly Olly Ice Cream Parlor. The ice cream just aint as good." Grandpa said, shaking his head and taking another swig.

"Wow. Lucky for Willie. He's not that bad once you get to know him, Grandpa. I remember spending career day with him when I was going to P.S. 118." Arnold thinks back and laughs.

"Mrs. Vitello died recently." Grandpa says.

"Really? Oh, man. That's sad to hear."

"Yeah, she left the flower shop to your old friend with the crazy hair - Nadine." Grandma said.

"Nadine? That doesn't surprise me. She's been working there since we were in high school. It's how she payed her way to a degree in entomology." Arnold said. "How's the rest of my friends? Have you seen any of them? Man, it's been so long!"

"Uh, well your friends Gerald and Phoebe..." Grandpa was interrupted by Arnold.

"Did they get married? I knew they would!" Arnold said excitedly.

"No, they're not married... not yet. They're famous!" Grandpa said as he held up a newspaper with them on the front page.

Their big picture was centered on the front page of the Hillwood Gazette saying: GERRY & PHEBES TO FINALLY TIE KNOT. The caption read, "Popular celebrity couple, third base man Gerald Johanssen and city council woman, Phoebe Hyerdahl are officially engaged as of last night when the allstar proposed to his girlfriend of almost twenty years at the popular Chez Paris restaurant downtown. Continue reading on page 2"

"Gerald is an allstar now? And her and Gerald are famous? Wow... things sure have changed!" Arnold looked at the paper again. He laughed. "You know what hasn't changed? No one can spell either of their last names correctly." he joked.

Arnold went to page 2 and looked at "G & P'S ROMANTIC TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE" and seen a picture of Mr. Simmons fourth grade class with the both of them pointed out. "There I am!" he exclaimed, pointing himself out. There was also a picture of them at their senior prom and one of them walking in Tina Park and one of Gerald hitting a grand slam, while Phoebe is being sworn in as Hillwood City Council Member. "Wow, I miss these two!"

"And do they miss you!" Grandpa Phil said. "They stop by every once in a while and have dinner with the rest of us."

"They're not the only one's who missed you..." Grandma says.

Arnold doesn't respond, but thinks for a second. He thinks back, years ago when his life was completely different from what it is now.

_He stands at the edge of the curb, holding an umbrella to guard himself from the dropping rain all around him. He stares across the street at the blonde hair soaked from the rain, the shivering body covered by the wet pink jacket, white t-shirt and pink and white striped skirt. She stands under the canopy of a closed store and takes a pull from her cigarette, looks down the block, hoping for the bus to show up. No bus can be seen._

_He runs across the street, stepping in a puddle and soaking his pants and shoes. _

_"Helga!" he yells as he crosses the street. _

_She looks. "Hey-Arnold!" and smiles._

_He comes under the canopy and holds the umbrella over her head. "Can I walk you home?"_

_She agreed and the two walked under his umbrella all the way to her house. The next thing he knew they standing in front of her stoop. He wraps his free arm around her body, pulls her close to him and kisses her passionately. _

_After the surprising kiss, she gets awkward and paranoid. She's afraid her parents saw the kiss or they may be watching. Someone may be watching. She tells him to leave. _

_"You should go! We'll meet tomorrow!" she says, running up her stoop._

_He walks away and then stops a few feet away and turns to see her in a moment of bliss, leaning up against her door in the pouring rain. She realizes she's caught watching him walk away. She snaps out of it and stands up straight._

_"Move it football head!"_

Arnold sits at the table with a giddy smile on his face.

"Arnold. Arnold! Hey-Arnold!" Grandpa says. "You awake there?"

"Yeah, Grandpa." he takes a breath. "How's Helga?"

**To Come...**

Arnold shocks the neighborhood with the reveal that he is not dead after all.

Everyone's adult lives are shown.

Arnold comes face to face with Helga.

Arnold's welcome home party.

**References to the original "Hey-Arnold" show**

Mr. Hyunh's daughter, Mia was in the episode "Arnold's Christmas" where Arnold finds her. Now she is much closer to her father and lives in the boarding house.

Can you guess whose child Jenny is?

Mr. Hyunh worked in a Mexican restraunt called "El Patio". He was the cook and he also played the guitar.

Cocinero means "cook" in Spanish.

Mr. Potts has a metal plate in his head and wears suspenders.

Roscoe's Funky Rags was where Arnold and Gerald got their groovy clothes when they needed new ones to get rid of their fruit outfits from the "Downtown as Fruits" episode.

How ironic is it that the mean Jolly Olly Man has finally made something of himself.

Mrs. Vitello owned Mrs. Vitello's Flower Shop.

Nadine loved nature and the wild life.

Phoebe and Gerald's last names have been spelled a number of different ways throughout the series.

Arnold and Helga met in the rain when he let her come under his umbrella.


	2. The Urban Life

**The Urban Life **

The sun just barely seeps into the dark through the open sides of the pulled down charcoal blinds. The shine hits the dark face of the tall man sleeping in the bed. It shines in his left eye and he turns over in a groggy state and sprawls himself out on the queen sized bed. The cell phone resting on the side table starts ringing in the tone of some old blues song. He rolls over again and slowly pulls himself up and picks up the phone.

"Hey, baby." he says.

"Gerald, sweety it's time to get up. You're commercial is shooting in an hour."

"Aw, can't I get just a few more minutes?" he childishly asked.

"No, I don't have time to call you back in fifteen minutes. We're still getting ready for this press conference and I need to get back in there." she replied.

"Alright. I'm getting up." he said, throwing his legs over the side and sitting up.

"Okay, so remember to take your vitamins, I made oatmeal - it's in the pot and don't forget that you're going to 575 Thorn Street. You can't miss it, it has a huge Yahoo Soda sign in the front."

"Phebes... I know. I've been there. Many times." he said, then yawned.

Phoebe laughed. "Right. So..."

"So, are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"I think I am." she said with a giddy smile.

"Alright then. I'll see you there. Muah."

"Love you. And don't forget to look on the front page of the newspaper."

"Diddo. And I won't."

Gerald hung up with his fiancee and went and made coffee for himself. He dumped the oatmeal and had some left over chinese food for breakfest. Right there on the front of the paper was his and Phoebe's faces stuck to each other as they hugged and smiled into the camera. The headline: "GERRY & PHEBES TO FINALLY TIE KNOT". Gerald smiled happily and thought back to the night before.

_They sit in the Chez Paris across from one another. Paparazzi stands outside the restraunt, taking pictures of the couple as they usually do whenever they have dinner out, which is often. Neither one of them really mind the paparazzi. They find it exciting and thrilling at the same time. A famous baseball player and popular city council member are seriously dating. There's a lot to talk about there. _

_ "We should've got a table closer in the back." Phoebe said. "They're gonna be here all night."_

_ "Ah, so what? Let them take pictures. Your beauty deserves to be photographed." he charmingly said, grabbing her hand in his and kissing it._

_ She smiled. "Let's give them some good material." she said as they leaned in over the table and kissed each other. _

_ Suddenly the flashes of the cameras were quick and constant and slowed down after the kiss and during the dinner. Right after the two finished eating their dinners, Phoebe got up to use the bathroom and once she returned, Gerald stood at her arrival and then bent down and stood on his one knee, pulling out one hell of rock and revealing it to her. Phoebe's jaw dropped and the cameras went flashing constantly._

_ "Phoebe Heyerdahl, the love of my life since I was ten years old, you have been everything to me since the moment I realized the way I felt about you. Since I realized that I was in love with you. Will you marry me?"_

_ Before Phoebe could answer, with all the flashing of the cameras the two of them were constantly blinking and soon all they could see was flashes of light. They began to laugh simultaneously._

_ "Give 'em an answer!" a young waitress with brown hair and an olive complexion called out._

_ They continued to laugh though. _

_ "Come on, Phoebe. I can't get off my knee until you give me an answer." Gerald said._

_ "Oh! I'm sorry. Yes, Gerald Martin Johansson - I will marry you because you are also the love of my life." Phoebe finally replied._

Phoebe was in a trans reminiscing about that moment as well.

"Phoebe. Phoebe. Phoebe!" yelled another council member.

"Oh! What? Sorry..." she said.

"The press conference is starting! The mayor's about to make his announcement!" he said.

Phoebe came running out to the conference room and sat in her reserved seat and await the mayor of Hillwood City to come out.

Over on Riverside Drive is a recently built two story building with a large rabbit wearing green sunglasses standing up straight from the first to the second floor. Next to the rabbit's stomach, in the center of the building reads a flourescent sign written in script: Iggy's Hop. A long purple canopy reaches out to the curb of the sidewalk. Big brown, french doors lead inside to a dimly lit, open room with gray and blue walls. A large bar sits in the back with a wall full of different alcohols. There are tables surrounding a dance floor with a stage in the center. Behind the bar is a spiral staircase that leads up to the second floor. A door at the top of the staircase reads: Restricted Area. Behind that door is a large room with big screen televisions with the Purdyvision logo on them, a smaller bar than downstairs with a smaller wall of liquor, big blue and gray couches, a pool table, a lot of open space with a table in the center. At the table sits three gentlemen playing cards, having a fews drinks and smoking cigars and cigarettes.

"Damnit! I got nothing..." the gentleman with backward green cap said, throwing his terrible hand down and taking a swig of his whiskey on the rocks.

"Pair-a nines." The tall and lanky gentleman called out in his southern accent.

"Full house! Oh yeah!" The fat, obnoxious one yelled, pulling the chips at the center of the table toward him.

"We'll never win with Harold playing!" Sid frustratedly yelled, shoving his cards toward the winner.

"I'd say it's on account of his fat ass bein' so distracting."

"Ah, shut up Stinky!" Harold yelled as the other two laughed hysterically. "You see how tall you are, Stinky? That's how long you'll be when I lay out across this floor!" he yelled, sticking his fist out.

The two men couldn't control their laughter and Harold's comment only made it worse. Harold angrily sat there and took a sip of his drink and lit the cigar in his mouth.

"Here Harold - winner deals." Stinky said, shoving the cards over to him.

Harold began to collect the cards and shuffle them. "This is the life, isn't guys? We wake up, act like we have jobs to get to, come here and play cards and have drinks all day." Harold laughed. "I told Patty that Iggy and I had some big meeting here at the club with some investors this morning."

"My dad don't care nor ask what I do." Stinky said. "What about you, Sid?"

"Thankfully I don't live with my parents anymore." he says, shaking his head. "And I don't have a wife naggin' me all the time."

"Patty is not my wife!" Harold yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "I'm tired of that joke already!"

"Jeez Harold, I wasn't talkin' about you and Patty!" Sid said.

"Well, good! I don't wanna hear about anymore jokes about me and Patty!" Harold says, throwing the cards on the table and going over to the bar.

Sid and Stinky just stare at each other for a second before Sid realizes the clock on the wall reads 10:30 a.m.

"Shoot! I gotta get going." he says, standing up, picking his black leather jacket from behind his chair and putting it on.

"I reckon the games over?" Stinky says, standing up.

The two of them walk over to Harold whose pouring three shots. "Here."

"Ah, I don't know if I should. I gotta get to work." Sid says.

"Where you workin' now?" Stinky asks, gladly grabbing his shot.

"Oh... just delivering packages and stuff." Sid said as he took his shot.

"Well, here's to... uh..." Harold said, raising his shot glass.

"Here's to Gerald and Phoebe! On account of them gettin' engaged last night." Stinky said nodding to the newspaper on the bar.

The three gentlemen held their shot glasses up and then took them.

"Alright boys, I'll see you later." Sid said as he walked toward the door.

Suddenly there was a loud pounding on the door and Sid stopped dead in his tracks, while Harold and Stinky stood at the bar.

"It's the cops! They're here! It's the cops!" Sid yelled in a whisper, running back over to Stinky and Harold.

"It's not the cops, you paranoid schizophrenic!" Harold said, walking cautiously over to the door. "Maybe it's the boss."

The pounding continued and Sid shivered. "That's not Big Gino! It's the cops! It's them! I know it!"

"If that's the cops, then this really bites." Stinky said.

"Who is it?!" Harold angrily asked.

"It's your wife!" a manly voice said, obviously trying to be disguised as a woman.

Harold unlocked the three bolts on the door and opened it to see the club's co-owner standing there.

"Heya guys!" he said with a smile, his green sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Iggy Bamford!" Harold yelled before punching Iggy and breaking his glasses.

"Ah! Harold, you fat bastard!" Iggy yells, holding his broken glasses. "You broke them!"

"We thought you were the cops!" Sid said.

"Well, Sid sure did..." Stinky admitted.

"Yeah! Don't play around like that again! And don't make fun of my wife!" Harold said, walking out the door, down the steps.

Sid followed. "I thought you said she wasn't you wife." he joked.

Stinky and Iggy stood and looked at each other as they heard Sid yell, "No Harold!" and then a crash downstairs.

On the other side of town, in the park theres a photo shoot taking place. The red and yellow leaves fall off the trees and blow in the wind. They collect all over the grass and set the scene for the photos to be taken. In piles of of collected leaves, girls lay naked with the leaves covering them from being exposed. With four girls on her right and four on her left, an auburn-haired girl with a freckled face emerges from a pile of leaves. Photos are taken by the second.

"Alright, Lila!" A woman with black hair and a red and black dress said. "Now stand up. Come on, you're models ladies - try and look like them!" she demanded.

Lila wore leaves glued to her chest and her groin and around. Her body was well shaped and her beauty echoed through the park.

"Alright Lila, you're looking good. Now crawl forward. Get an angle of her from below. Good!"

A young man approaches the woman with a coffee in his hand, "Here you are, Rhonda."

She snaps at him, "You know, some people around here call me Ms. Lloyd!" she said, before snatching the coffee from his hands.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lloyd."

"Don't apologize - just stop wasting my time!" she yelled, before focusing back on the shoot. "Ah, that's just great! I'm gonna sell the hell out of these magazines!" she said confidently.

After a few more pictures were taken, then Rhonda called for a break.

"Phew, this is hard work." she said, falling back into her chair.

Next to her sits the focus of the shoot - Lila Sawyer. "Rhonda, this shoot is great! I just wish it wasn't so cold out today."

Rhonda looked at the half naked Lila. "Can somebody get her a blanket!" she yelled out.

"Oh, it's okay... I can get it myself..." she said as someone came and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "Oh, thank you ever so much." Lila noticed Rhonda was busy texting on her cell phone. "I just want to thank you again, Rhonda - for asking me to model for this shoot. It's been so long since I've worked..."

"Well, when they said it was going to be an autumn shoot, I just thought about that hair and those freckles and remembered that you have done some modeling and you're not some idiot that thinks she knows what she's doing." Rhonda replied, not even looking at Lila, but continuing on her cell phone.

Lila smiled. "I've forgotten how much I love to do this kind of work. It's so fulfilling."

"Why'd you stop?" she asked, as if interested.

"Oh, well Gino doesn't like me doing this kind of stuff. But when I told him about how much I wanted to do this one, he encouraged me to go for it. He's ever so sweet."

"Ha... the Big G let you off your leash it sounds." Rhonda coldly said.

"Oh, it's nothing like that. He just doesn't like the thought of other men looking at me." she said innocently.

"And I bet you never look at the other men either."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I mean that you're one hundred percent faithful. As if he was too." she said, rolling her eyes. "I'd die if I were you." she said before she stopped playing with her phone and stood up. "Breaks over in fifteen." she said, before walking away.

Back in the neighborhood, over at the old Big Bob's Beepers store, now named Big Bob's Electronics a tall, broad-shouldered man with gray hair talks to two customers.

"So, we got everything from a Purdyvision flat screen to gPhones to Toasty Toasters! And if you're interested, I know they're a bit out-dated, but we have tons and tons of beepers! Brand spankin' new!" he said. "Before you say anything, let me show you them! I'll give you a great deal!" he looks around and sees his blonde-haired daughter sitting on a store laptop, typing away. "Hey-Helga! Helga!"

The girl ignored her father and continued to type until he called out her name again. "What Big Bob?" she yelled out.

"Run in the back and grab me the box of beepers! I got some interested customers here."

She growled and walked away from the laptop and past her father and his customers. "He's still trying to sell these freakin' beepers! What is it 1996?"

"All you gotta do is call the beeper, it beeps and you get to a phone and call the person back!" he told them.

Helga comes back with the box of beepers and Big Bob is no longer talking to the two customers, but rather a new, single customer. "Here's your damn beepers!"

"Huh? I don't want those! This man's interested in buying a T.V." he says.

"Jeez, Big Bob!" she yells before walking back to the storage room with the beepers.

On the way, she finds a garbage can and dumps the entire box into the garbage. As she walks back to her laptop, she stops an employee.

"Hey, Bernard. Empty that trash can. I think it's full."

"Right on it, Ms. Pataki." Bernard said.

"Call me Helga! Helga!" she yelled out. "Don't go botherin' me again! I gotta get this article e-mailed to the Gazette before six p.m.!" she said as she passed Big Bob who ignored her completely.

After sending in the article she wrote for the newpaper, Helga "worked" for a few more hours at Big Bob's and then jumped on the bus, reading her romance novel as she headed for her favorite and nightly bar.

Helga got off of the bus and walked down the old familiar block until she reached a townhouse that had been remodeled into a pub. Up the stoop and through the door, she entered the bar known as "The Stoop". A sign outside on the wall read, "Rooms For Rent Upstairs." The first floor served as the bar and the bar-owner's apartment, while the upstairs was cheap rooms the drunkards often rented for their one night stands. Helga walked in and sat at a stool while an old Dino Spumoni song played and a few guys played pool in the back.

"Hey-Helga. What can I get you tonight?" asked the bartender and owner.

"Hey, Stoop Kid. I'll take a Screwdriver and after I'll have a beer." she said, slapping a twenty dollar bill down on the table.

He picked up the bill. "You got it."

Helga sat at the bar for and waited for her drink when she heard two familiar voices talking and laughing as they walked in. She turned and looked to see two old friends.

"Yeah, it was so corny! 'I'm Gerald Johansson and I drink Yahoo Soda!'" he said before laughing.

His fiancee at his arm laughed as well. "Oh Gerald!"

They stopped when they saw Helga sitting there at the bar, looking at them.

"Helga..." Phoebe said.

"Hey Phebes, Gerald. Long time no see." she said, when Stoop Kid put her drink down before her.

"How ya doin', Helga?" Gerald asked as he and Phoebe walked closer to her.

"I'm living." she joked. "I just got off work and there's no way I was going back home to listen to Miriam slither her words." she laughed. "By the way, congratulations. I heard you're finally tieing that knot."

Phoebe smiled and blushed, "Well, we're engaged."

"Yup. We decided that it's finally time to take that step." Gerald said.

"Ah, that's great. I'm really happy for the both of you. No one deserves this more." Helga said, then took a sip of her drink.

"Aw, thanks Helga. That's sweet of you." Phoebe said.

"So, what brings you two celebrities here?" she asked, taking another sip.

"Oh we're just here for some dinner and drinks." Gerald replied. "Would you like to join us?"

Helga looked at the two of them for a second. "Ah, no. You two go ahead. I don't wanna feel like a third wheel or anything."

"Alright. If you change your mind, we'll be over there in the booth." Phoebe said.

"Enjoy your dinner." Helga said.

Gerald and Phoebe walked to the back of the bar and sat in their usual booth.

"Stoop Kid," Helga called him over. "send them two pints on me." she said, then lit a cigarette.

Gerald and Phoebe took off their jackets and sat comfortably at the booth they alway sit in every time they go to The Stoop. Stoop Kid comes over and sets the pints of beer down on the table.

"Helga sent these over."

"Oh, awesome!" Gerald said. "Send her one back."

"That was so nice of her." she said as the two of them looked over at her and the three of them raised their glasses.

"So, what'll be? Your usual?" Stoop Kid asked them.

"Yup!" Phoebe said.

"You know it!" Gerald replied.

Stoop Kid walked away and Gerald and Phoebe took sips of their beers. They then held each other's hands in the center of the table.

"So, when are we setting the date?" Gerald asked.

"Uh... Uh..." Phoebe said nervously.

Helga took a pull from her cigarette and then finished her Screwdriver. Stoop Kid came over and grabbed her empty glass, placing a pint in front her.

"Thanks," she said, pulling out her cell phone.

A moment later she could hear someone walk into the bar from behind her. She barely noticed it and continued on her phone. The person came in and walked up to the bar and stood next to Helga. Stoop Kid dropped a bottle that he was holding in his hand.

"Arnold?" he said in a shock.

Helga immediately looked up and seen him - the love of her life, thought long dead, never to be seen again. Her eyes grew big, her jaw dropped as he turned his head and noticed her.

"Helga?" he said, also in a shock.

"A-A-Ar-" Helga struggled.

"Arnold!" Gerald yelled from across the bar, standing up in the booth.

"Arnold?" Phoebe said as she stood up and looked behind her.

Arnold, speechlessly looked back at them and then looked back at Helga who still could not speak.

**To Come...**

Arnold is reunited with the best of his friends.

More about everyone's past is revealed.

Arnold's life is at risk!

Arnold's welcome home party.

**References to the original "Hey-Arnold!" show**

Gerald, like Arnold loved the blues.

Gerald can be seen playing baseball as a third baseman.

Iggy's Hop - in reference to Iggy's bunny rabbit pajamas.

Purdyvision is the logo on Helga's television in the "Married" episode of season 5.

Harold always denied him and Patty were anything more than friends, now it anything more than dating.

Sid was always paranoid.

Rhonda was always talking about fashion and acting like a bitch.

Beepers are out-dated these days!

Stoop Kid never has to leave his Stoop now!


	3. A Night At The Stoop

**The Urban Life**

The brightness of the street light shown through the window of The Stoop. Dino Spumoni was playing on juke box as it had been since Helga came in only ten minutes earlier. Right now the bar was in a moment of shock and joy as the famous quad were finally in the same room and reunited with the one missing quater - Arnold.

They looked right into each other's eyes. The former lovers were looking into each other's eyes after seven years. Seven years and a lot of therapy to help Helga get over his "death".

"Arnold! Is it really you?" Gerald asked as he approached the football-headed man.

Arnold turned to Gerald and smiled. "It's me." he said.

"Ah, Arnold - man, it is you!" Gerald said before the two grabbed each other into a tight manly hug.

Phoebe, who came right behind Gerald looked directly at Helga who looked as if she had seen a ghost. Her jaw remained dropped and she still couldn't speak. They traded stares and Helga shook her head in disbelief.

Gerald patted Arnold's back hard and they separated before simultaneously grabbing each other's hand and wiggling their thumbs together.

"Arnold!" Phoebe yelled as they hugged. "I can't believe you're back!"

"It's been too long, Phoebe." he said.

Stoop Kid was next in line and pulled Arnold into a tight, uncomfortable hug. "I just knew they didn't know what they were talking about when they said you were dead! I knew you were alive!" he exclaimed.

"It's good to see you Stoop Kid. The bar looks exactly the way it did when I left." Arnold replied.

Phoebe walked over and helped a very shocked Helga off of her stool. "Keep it together, Helga."

Arnold turned and faced Helga. "Helga..."

"Arnold..."

The two slowly hugged, both closing their eyes peacefully as they embraced. Helga couldn't hold back the tears and Arnold couldn't either. They hugged long and stiff. No one made any comments because of the history these two have together. None of them can imagine what this moment must be like for Arnold and Helga. It must be so bitter-sweet. So emotionally challenging, yet so amazing.

So Helga did wind up joining Gerald and Phoebe, Arnold as well. The four of them sat in Gerald and Phoebe's usual booth which originally was the usual booth of the four them. Arnold sat next to Phoebe, who sat across from Gerald, who sat next to Helga. Helga couldn't take her eyes off of him. The shock still hadn't worn off yet.

"I couldn't believe when I looked at the paper that your faces were on it." Arnold said smiling.

"Oh yeah. A lot has happened in the last seven years, Arnold." Gerald said.

"A lot!" Phoebe added.

Stoop Kid came over with a tray in his hand, a beer for each other them and five shots. Helga had downed the one he brought her the moment Arnold walked in the bar and still wasn't feeling as relaxed as she thought she would.

"This neighborhood has missed the good Dr. Arnold... what's your last name again?" Stook Kid said while putting the beers before them.

"Could I get a shot of tequila!" Helga blurted out as she nervously shook her leg up and down, heel elevated.

"I'm talking to Arnold! Wait a second! Anyway, it hasn't been the same since you left." he then walked back to the bar, prepared five shots and quickly ran back. "Now this is to the engagement," he said nodding to Phoebe and Gerald. "and to the welcome home!" nodding to Arnold and all five of them took their shot.

Stoop Kid, Gerald and Helga all took their shots like professional drinkers, while Phoebe and Arnold made a sour face and chased the shots with sips from their beers.

"Whoo! That is some grade-A tequila!" Stoop Kid yelled before walking back behind the bar.

"Hey-Arnold, man where've you been all this time?" Gerald asked. "Why'd they say you were dead?"

"I must admit, Arnold - we all believed you were killed or died of a disease while working in Darfur. Isn't that right, Helga?" Phoebe asked.

Helga nodded, her mouth open. "After seven years..." she shrugged.

"Well, if you guys wanna hear a story..." Arnold said.

"Come on, Arnold! I've always told the stories. It's your turn now!" Gerald exclaimed, sipping his beer. "After seven years, you better have a story, man!"

"Uh, okay. Well..." Arnold began, but paused thinking back to when he first left for Darfur.

Arnold looks over at Helga as he remembers why he left in the first place. All of his reasons for fleeing Hillwood City had to do with Helga and what transpired before he left. And Helga just sat there, staring at Arnold with no alleviation of her shock since the moment she saw him again for the first time in seven years.

"Weeeell?" Gerald said.

Everyone sat around and looked at Arnold quite attentively. They waited on the edge of their seats to hear what he had to say.

"Uh, well I left for Darfur and as we arrived the pilot got a radio call saying that the airport had been invaded by the rebellion and so we had to land in an open field. We were nearly shot down as we decended toward the landing strip, but managed to get away in time." Arnold explained.

"Damn man!" Gerald said.

"Shhh. Don't interrupt him, Sweety." Phoebe told him.

"So we landed in this open field and later found out that the rebellion had killed everyone at the airport and torched the building." he said, nodding his head. "We walked ten miles to the closest village. It was almost a miracle that the rebels invaded the airport and we got the call because when we got to the village, there were over forty malnourished and starving families living there. None of them had ever seen a doctor before either. I couldn't believe it since we were so close to the airport. But that's just normal out there. Unfortunately it wasn't long before the rebels attacked that village too. Most of the villagers were able to flee. I was with my team running through the wilderness..."

_People run through the center of the village as bullets fly and bodies drop all around. The small shacks were set ablaze and everyone fled the village and headed for the gorilla swarming wilderness. Mothers and fathers grabbed their children, some carried their family members shot and soaked in dripping blood. Arnold and his team of ten other doctors ran from the village, one doctor being shot._

_ "Arnold, come on!" a dark-haired, fair skin man yelled, stopped with three other doctors while the rest ran off._

_ Arnold had run back - was nearly shot before he jumped to the ground and crawled his way over to the injured doctor. "We can't leave her!" he yelled as he reached the young red headed doctor. "Fiona! Open your eyes!" _

_ Fiona's mouth is filled with blood that she's coughing up. Arnold realizes the bullet went into her back, through her lung and out her chest. She can't breathe with her lungs filling up with blood and he quickly pulls out his pocket knife and stabs her in the side, releasing the blood from her lungs and allowing her to take a breath._

_ "Come on, Arnold!" another female doctor yelled before a bullet hit her in the head._

_ Arnold picked Fiona up and started running as fast as he could with the other two doctors. As they ran they continued to hear the guns being fired and the people screaming. _

"We didn't know where we were running, but just followed the villagers until..." Arnold said.

"Until?" Helga asked, amazed by Arnold's bravery.

Arnold and Helga's eyes met and he gave her a quick smirk. "Until the gorillas started attacking."

_Arnold, Fiona in his arms and the other two doctors watched as massive gorillas jump from the trees above and attack unexpecting villagers. Up ahead an opening in the forest could be seen, presumably a body of water was met and hopefully they'd be able to get across._

_ "We're almost there! AHH!" the dark-haired, fair skin doctor yelled as a gorilla jumped from a tree and tackled him. "Oh, please! Help me! Help me!" he screamed._

_ Arnold and the remaining doctor could do nothing but run as they listened to their friend be beaten to death by a huge ape. As they made it up to the opening, they heard multiple shots and people screaming. On the river were two boats and rebels shooting at the villagers as they came out from the vegetation. Arnold and the other doctor stopped running and stood still, looking at the rebels holding guns up to them. One of the rebels started yelling in an African language when they saw the two light-colored doctors standing there with Fiona in Arnold's arms. The men stopped shooting, taking shots as black villagers came running out. _

_ "Don't move!" a rebel yelled out. "We'll shoot you at any moment!"_

_ Arnold and the other doctor looked at each other in fear. "We're just doctors!" Arnold yelled._

"They took us aboard their boat and threw us in cages after they made us bandage up Fiona until we could treat her damaged lung. The rebels told us that we were now _their _doctors - we belonged to them and if we didn't do what we were told, they'd shoot us."

Helga, Phoebe and Gerald sat at the booth in awe. Over at the bar Stoop Kid dried glasses with a rag, but listening to Arnold's story he just dried the same glass for fifteen minutes.

"For two years I was their slave-doctor. Anytime one of them got hurt, Fiona, Brock and I had to tend to their wounds. When they were sick, we were expected to heal them." Arnold put his head down. "Brock was given to one of the leaders who had cancer. There was nothing he could do. It was not two minutes after he died did they shoot Brock - right in front of Fiona and I."

For a second or two they sat in silence. The shock of Arnold's experiences over the past seven years had everyone speechless.

The next moment a man in a long gray coat and a top hat walked into the bar, very nonshalantly. He walked all the way to the back of the bar and pulled a camera from his inner coat pocket. Three quick flashes blind the four of them.

"I got it! I got a picture!" the man, presumably paparazzi yelled before running back out.

Stoop Kid hopped over the bar. "Hey!" he yelled, following the man out the door, to the stoop.

The man joined the rest of the paparazzi waiting outside for Gerald and Phoebe to come out. Stoop Kid chased the man, but stopped on the last step of his stoop.

"Haha! It's Stoop Kid! Come get me now!" the man yelled.

The others laughed, "Yeah, I remember he was in the paper - left his stoop once, for the first time in his life and never again!"

"Come on Stooooop Kiiid!" the man then said as another one threw a bottle.

"Here's to you, Stoop Kid!"

Stoop Kid didn't move and inch as the beer bottle missed him and broke off one the steps. The beer dripped down to the sidewalk from the shattered bottom and broken, jagged top of the bottle. They continued to laugh until Stoop Kid picked up the top part of the broken bottle and took a single step down to the sidewalk.

"He's off the stoop!" one of the paparazzi yelled.

"He's a nut! Run!" the man who took the picture yelled as they scattered.

Stoop Kid tossed the broken bottle as he walked back up the stoop and through the bar door. By this time the only people in the bar were Phoebe, Gerald, Arnold and Helga. Stoop Kid turned the "OPEN" sign over to "CLOSED" and locked the door using the keys hanging on his shorts.

"Everything alright, Stoop Kid?" Gerald asked.

"Oh, fine." he said as he walked up to the bar, leaned over, grabbed the bottle of tequila and made five more shots.

He brought them over and placed them down in front of each of them. "Drinks are on the house tonight, guys and gals."

"Aw, thanks Stoop Kid!" Gerald said.

"Thanks a lot, Stoop Kid." said Arnold.

"Aw, that's so sweet." Phoebe said while the other two thanked him and then they all took their shots.

"Alright! This is one hell of a cause for a celebration!" Helga cheered after she took the shot and slammed the glass down on the table. "Phoebe and Gerald are getting married and Arnold's not dead!"

"I think Helga's finally feeling the alcohol." Gerald joked.

They all laughed like it was the old times when they would constantly double date and hang out at The Stoop all night long, leaving when the sun came up.

_The four of them sat in the same booth. All four of them drinking a beer, talking, laughing, complaining, cheering, listening to the music playing. This was their usual Friday night spot unless there was a party or something to go to. Arnold and Helga sat next to each other, Arnold's arm wrapped around Helga's shoulder and the two of them leaned back against each other and the back of the booth. Phoebe and Gerald sat with their hands clutched, playing footsy with each other. _

_ "Phebes, if you rub my leg one more time...!" Helga yelled._

_ They all laughed. "Sorry Helga." Phoebe laughed before Gerald kissed her. _

_ 'Hello my Honey, Hello my Darlin'... Hello my Ragtime Gal... Send me a kiss by wire Honey, M' heart's on fire!!' sounded through the bar._

_ "Hey-Arnold, it's your song!" Helga yelled. "Remember this, guys?"_

_ "I sure do!" Gerald said._

_ "Didn't you sing this out in the street to prove to Harold that you were crazy... too crazy to fight?" Phoebe asked._

_ "Haha! And he did this crazy dance!" Helga added._

_ The three of them laughed hysterically, thinking back. Arnold sat there with an almost embarrassed smile, but kept it cool. Gerald and Helga looked at each other._

_ "Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" he asked as Helga nodded._

_ The two looked back at Arnold with evil grins._

_ "...Ah, no! I'm not gonna do that dance again!" Arnold sternly said._

_ "Oh, come on! One last time! Before the song ends!" Helga begged._

_ "Come on, Arnold! You've had a few sips of that beer - you're drunk enough, ya' lightweight!" Gerald said._

_ Arnold took a swig of his beer and shook his head._

_ "The last verse is comin' up! Come on Arnold, for me!" Helga asked, trying to look innocent._

_ "...For you - anything, my love." he said, kissing her, swigging his beer and standing up on the table. "So, Hello my Honey, Hello my Darlin'... Hello my Ragtime Gal... Send me a kiss by wire Honey," he lipsynched, dancing and looking at Helga who was hysterically laughing with Gerald and Phoebe, while the rest of the crowded bar looked on. "M' heart's on fire!! If you refuse me Honey, you'll lose me and you'll be left alone. So Baby, telephone-" he jumped from his table at the booth to the tables in the center and flipped from one to the other. "-And tell me I'm you owwwwn!" He looked at Helga and then took a bow as the song came to rest._

_ Everyone in the bar clapped and laughed._

_ "Hey-Arnold! Get down off that table!" Stoop Kid yelled. "What do you think this is? The street?"_

_ Arnold took a step down and Helga ran and kissed him._

"Hey, Stoop Kid! Keep them shots and that beer coming!" Helga yelled as he went back behind the bar.

"So, Helga - how have you been?" Arnold asked, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Right now, I'm feelin' a little loose... uh, I mean a little more loosen up. It was some shock seeing that football head of your's after all these years of believing you were dead." she said.

"Well, I'm sorry for letting you all believe that." he replied.

"Ah, don't worry about it. There was nothing you could do. I mean, you were being held captive by a group of rebels!" she said just as another round of shots came as well as beers.

"Uh, I'm not so sure I should have another." Arnold said. "I'm already feeling really drunk. This is the most I've had in seven years!"

"Come on, Arnold! We're havin' a celebration!" Gerald said. "When's the last time the four of us were sitting right here, havin' a good ol' time?"

"Don't worry, Arnold. I think this is the most I've drank since before you left too!" Phoebe said.

"Ha!" Helga said as she and Gerald turned and looked at each other.

"Amateurs." they said at the same time.

They all laughed before Stoop Kid yelled for them to take the shot already. They did and again Arnold and Phoebe were the only one's to chase it with a sip of beer.

"I warn you guys - I'm already feeling drunk and since the drinks are on the house this'll be the last time I deliver them too you." the bartender said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah - just bring the bottle over then!" Helga said, taking a sip of her beer.

"Uh, Helga? Come to the bathroom with me?" Phoebe asked, winking at her friend.

"Oh, alright..." she reluctantly said as they rolled out of the booth and into the ladies room.

As soon as the door shut, Helga leaned up against it and slid down to the floor. "Holy shit, Phebes."

"Helga, you're doing great! You can do this! Just don't get too drunk..." Phoebe replied.

"Oh, we're past that point. I didn't even taste that last shot." she replied. "I'm falling back into my shocked state again... as I think about it again, I can't help but ask myself if Arnold _is _really out there." she said, staring at the wall.

"Yes, he's really out there! Arnold's not dead, Helga! He's alive and we're out there having drinks just like we always use to!"

"It is really great to be hanging out with the old gang again."

"I forgot how fun those times were." Phoebe said.

"I wish I could... some of my best memories here are with Arnold."

"You still love him don't you?" Phoebe asked, the question burning in her head.

Helga looked at Phoebe and nodded. "I could never stop loving ice cream." she said.

Meanwhile, Arnold and Gerald hugged again back at the booth.

"I still can't believe it, man! I'm sitting here having a drink with my best friend again! Just like the good old days." Gerald said.

"I'm just glad to be back. And to see you and Phoebe again. You're getting married!" Arnold said.

Gerald nodded, "Yup. yup."

"Ah, that's so great Gerald. I knew you too would get married."

"Yeah, I always thought you and Helga would take the leap before me and Phoebe."

Arnold nodded and looked away, taking a sip from his beer and obviously feeling uncomfortable by Gerald's comment.

"How is it?" Gerald asked. "To be with her... around her now? After all this time..."

"...It certainly helps to have you and Phoebe here." Arnold replied just as the girls came walking back out.

They sat back down and Helga demanded another shot be taken. They held their glasses.

"This is to..." Helga said, but couldn't help but laugh prompting the others to do so. "No seriously! This is to Mrs. Vitello. May she rest in peace and have lots and lot and lots of... flowers grow..."

"Spit it out!" Gerald yelled.

They all laughed again. "grow on her grave - I don't know!" she said, too drunk to clearly think at this point.

"Alright, lets do this!" Stoop Kid said.

"To Mrs. Vitello!" they all said, then took the shot.

"Heh-hem. So how long ago did she die? My grandparents mentioned it was recently." Arnold said.

"Oh, almost a month ago. Everyone bought their flowers at her shop and Nadine put them together. It was a beautiful funeral." Phoebe said.

"I think that was the last time... I saw you two." Helga said to Phoebe and Gerald. "Ya know, we should hang out more often."

"You guys don't hang out every weekend anymore?" Arnold asked, disappointment in his tone.

"Oh, not really." Phoebe said. "We just don't have the time."

"With all the baseball things I gotta do and Phoebe's a city council member now..." Gerald said.

"Oh right, I heard about that. Congratulasshhions." Arnold said, slurring a bit. "What about you Helga? What have you been up to?"

"Ah, well... I'm either working at that craphole for my worthless father or here just havin' a few drinks. Sometimes Harold and Patty join me." she said before she had a hiccup.

"Harold and Patty? They're still going strong like you guys?" Arnold asked to Gerald and Phoebe.

Helga put her head down and then lit a cigarette. Arnold was a little surprised to see Helga smoking cigarettes when he got her to quit years back. And to hear that she's at The Stoop all the time bothered him too. He knew how much she hated her own mother's problem with alcohol. He couldn't believe she developed her own.

"Harold and Patty are definitely still together. They're practically married." Phoebe said.

"You'd think they were married for years... she's like his mother! I swear, if Harold didn't have Patty, he'd have to move back home!" Gerald said, hypocritically.

"Patty still boxing? What's Harold doing now?" Arnold asked.

"Harold and Iggy went into business together. They opened up Iggy's Hop over on Riverside Drive. It's a pretty cool night club." Gerald said.

"I've never seen a girl knock someone... hiccuuup... out like Big Patty." Helga said. "She recently got... the title Knock-Out Queen!"

"Uh... I can think of one other girl that can knock someone out pretty well." Arnold drunkedly and flirtatiously said.

Helga and Arnold's eyes met and they smiled at each other. Phoebe and Gerald saw this and then looked at each other and laughed to themselves.

Stoop Kid layed down at the bar and passed out before Gerald finally noticed. "Hey," he laughed. "Look at Stoop Kid!"

The four of them looked and laughed hysterically as they finished up their beers.

"Holy moley!" Phoebe yelled, squinting her eyes at the watch on her hand. "Does that say 3:45?"

"It's a quarter to four?!" Gerald asked.

"Whoah! The time just flew by!" Arnold said.

"No wonder this guy's passed out like a drunk fool." Helga said.

"I've gotta go finish filming for that commercial tomorrow morning!" Gerald said. "Now I'm gonna be hungover..." he complained with dread in his voice.

"And I've got a meeting at City Hall at nine o'clock." Phoebe said. "We better get going, Gerald."

All four of them struggled to stand up as they got out of the booth, put on their jackets and said goodbye.

"I'm so thrilled with the way this night turned out!" Gerald said as he and Arnold hugged again. "I found out my best friend is actually alive! Best time in years!"

"Definitely, Gerald! It's been great seeing you." Arnold replied.

"I'm so glad we hung out tonight, Helga!" Phoebe said, pulling her into a big hug.

"And what a night it's been. Hiccup." Helga said.

"Tell him." Phoebe whispered in her ear.

The huggers separated and Arnold and Phoebe hugged while Gerald and Helga gave each other a kiss on the cheek.

"Let's do this again." Gerald said.

"Congratulations... Hiccuuup... again." Helga replied.

"Oh, Arnold - it's so great that you're back and alive, non-the-less." Phoebe said.

"It's great too see you too, Phoebe."

Helga grabbed Stoop Kid's keys to unlock the bar door. Arnold, Helga, Phoebe and Gerald all walked down the stoop and to the sidewalk. A car was sitting outside waiting to take the couple home.

"We've got room for the both you if you want." Gerald said as he and Phoebe stumbled into the car.

"Nah, I think I need to just walk this off. It's only a few blocks." Arnold said.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go wake Stoop Kid up." Helga said, trying to keep her balance as she lit a cigarette.

"Alright, you two. Let's meet up tomorrow or something." Gerald stuck his arm out the rolled down window. "Arnold, I wanna hear more about that story." he said as Arnold walked up to the limo, the two grabbed each other's hand and wiggled their thumbs together.

"Alright, Old Buddy." Arnold said before the car drove off.

Arnold and Helga were left standing on the sidewalk in front of the stoop at almost 4 a.m. And Phoebe and Gerald cuddled in the backseat of their car on the way home.

"We left them alone together..." Phoebe says.

"Huh?" Gerald said too drunk and tired to talk at this moment.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she jokingly asked.

Arnold watched as Helga took a pull from her cigarette and then coughed like she was suffering from lung cancer or Emphzyma.

"The last time I saw you, you hadn't had a cigarette in a almost two years." Arnold said.

Helga took another pull. "Last time I saw you, I started again."

Arnold nodded and smirked. "Fair enough." he said, walking over and pulling the cigarette out of her mouth and stomping on it. "Is that when you started drinking this heavily?"

"What are you talking about, Football-head?!" she said, flirtatiously pushing him.

Arnold and Helga stood and stared at each other for a second.

"It's cold out here." Arnold said, shivering. "You gonna go wake up Stoop Kid?"

Helga nodded and he followed her back into the bar. They woke Stoop Kid up and carried him into his apartment and into bed. Helga fell onto the bed when they dropped Stoop Kid and she and Arnold found this to be quite humorous. Arnold helped her up, grabbing her hand and pulling her up toward him. Helga's face came close enough to Arnold's face for the tips of their noses to touch. They stared at each other for a moment and then both awkwardly turned away.

"I should go lock the bar. We'll have to go out the back." Helga said, Stoop Kid's keys in her hand.

Arnold nodded and followed her back into the bar where she locked the door. He went to turn off the juke box which was still playing songs when Helga stopped him.

"Leave it..." she said, walking over to the booth and grabbing a few of their glasses.

Arnold took his finger away from the OFF button and walked over to the table and grabbed the rest of the glasses, including the tequila bottle. They both went behind the bar and dropped the glasses into the sink and the bottle into the recycling bin. Helga wiped down the entire bar while Arnold did their table. Arnold turned off most of the lights as Helga stood in between the stools and helped herself to one last shot. She poured a second one for herself, but was surprised when a hand from right behind her stole the glass. She turned to see Arnold take the shock as if he were a professional drinker; no chaser, no painful face. They looked at each other for a second before simultaneously grabbing each other into a passionate kiss, leaning up against the bar. They pulled each other's jackets off and dropped them to the floor. Helga and Arnold unbuttoned his shirt and pants as the song "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper played on the old jukebox.

_'Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and think of you  
Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new  
Flash back warm night, almost left behind  
Suitcase of memories  
Time after sometime you pictured me  
I'm walking too far ahead  
You're callin' to me  
I can't hear what you've said  
Then you said, "Go slow, I fall behind"  
The second hand unwinds'_

They fell to the cold, wooden floor of the bar, kissing the entire time as Arnold rubbed his hand up her leg to her pink skirt.

_'If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting  
Time after time'_

'If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting  
Time after time'

"Oh, Arnold..." Helga said as he kissed her neck.

"I've missed you so much, Helga." Arnold said, seemingly out of breath.

_'After my picture fades  
And darkness has turned to grey  
Watching through windows  
You're wondering if I'm OK  
Secrets stolen from deep inside  
The drum beats out of time'_

'If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting  
Time after time'

Helga wakes up just as the sunlight is coming in through the bar window. She looks around and realizes she's on the bar floor and her underwear are laying right in front of her. She's also being spooned by Arnold while some random song plays on the jukebox. Her jaw drops and she jumps up.

"Oh... my..." Helga was in shock - yet again as she stared at Arnold with his unbutton shirt and pants.

Arnold turned over and looked like he was waking up. Helga grabbed her underwear and ran out the back door of the bar.

Arnold was woken up by the shaking and calling of his name from Stoop Kid. He groggily turned over on the hard wooden floor.

"Arnold. Arnold. Hey-Arnold." Stoop Kid said.

"Ah... my back." Arnold complained as he tried to sit up. "What time is it?" he asked before he realized his shirt was unbuttoned as were his pants.

"It's seven-thirty. Want some coffee?" he asked as he went behind the bar and put a pot of coffee on.

"Nah, I gotta get home. My grandparents must be worried." Arnold said as he struggled to stand up, picking his jacket up as he did.

"So what happened to you last night, man? I mean, I know I passed out on the bar..."

"Uh, I don't know. I think I blacked out." he replied, buttoning his pants and shirt again.

Stoop Kid grabbed his keys which sat on the bar next to an empty shot glass and a half full bottle of tequila. "What'd you do? Lock up the bar, decide to take a shot and then passed out on the floor?" he laughed.

"Heh-hem. I-I don't know."

Arnold left The Stoop and headed back to the boarding house on this particularly cold morning. On his way, he tried to recall the events of last night because the last thing he could remember was standing outside of The Stoop with Helga, saying goodbye to Phoebe and Gerald. He also remembers being quite drunk at the time.

As he walked down the street with his head looking down, he accidenlty bumped into a passing by person. The man, shorter than Arnold fell to the cement and all the papers from his side bag fell out onto the sidewalk.

"Ah!" the gentle voice said as he hit the ground. "I'm okay."

Arnold looked down to see an old curly, fire-headed friend. "Eugene?!"

"Yeah, it's Eugene." he said, turning over and collecting his papers without even looking at Arnold. "I just got these alphabatized..."

Arnold bent down to help him. "Eugene, it's me! Arnold."

Eugene looked up. "Arnold?! Arnold!"

"Eugene!" he yelled as they hugged.

Just then a wind blew in and took some of the papers with it.

"Oh, no!" Eugene yelled. "My papers!"

They both grabbed as many papers as the could before the wind took them all. They were able to retrieve a few, but a lot of them blew down Vine Street.

"Eugene, I'm so sorry!" Arnold said.

"Oh, its not your fault Arnold." Eugene replied as they both stood up and he stuffed the papers back in his bag. "But hey-Arnold, you're here! Everyone thought you were dead!"

"So I've heard." Arnold replied.

"Hey Mr. Horowitz!" a little girl holding her mother's hand yelled from across the street.

Eugene waved. "That's one of my students. I'm working at P.S. 118 now."

"Really?! Is Principal Wartz still there? Mr. Simmons?" Arnold asked.

"Principal Wartz is long retired - Mr. Simmons is actually principal now. You should stop by sometime, now that you're not dead."

Arnold smiled. "I definitely will!"

"Okay, Arnold. I have to get to class. It's great to see you again. Welcome home!" Eugene said as he continued back down the block.

Arnold turned around and continued back down his block and finally reached his house where he picked up the newspaper on the stoop and went in. Thankfully no one was awake yet and he could just enter discreetly. Despite having not slept much, Arnold didn't feel like going back to sleep. He went into the kitchen and had himself a bowl of cereal and listened to the radio while he pulled the rubber-band off the newspaper and it opened up. The front page read: MAYOR PALTER DENIES TIES TO HC MAFIA.

Unbeknownst to Arnold, a man quietly opens the front door to the boarding house. He wears all black. When he walks into the fouer, he puts on a black face-mask and pulls out his gun, silencer screwed on.

Arnold stood and got himself a glass of water as he look at the picture under the title showing the black-haired, blue-eyed mayor in the center at a podium and Phoebe to the left of him. Just then Arnold got a flashback of him and Phoebe hugging, then him saying goodbye to her and Gerald as they got into their car, then... him and Helga making out against the bar, then on the bar floor. Arnold realized at that moment that he and Helga did, in fact, make love in the early morning hours of last night.

The gun-wielding man heard the faucet as well as the radio Arnold had on in the kitchen and slowly stepped through the hall. He stayed up against the side of the wall, slowly approaching the kitchen.

Arnold sat down and thought about his flashback to last night - his night with Helga. The gunman stepped into the ktchen, Arnold looked up as the gun was pointed at him. His jaw dropped. A loud gun shot sounded through the entire house as the gunman was blown across the kitchen. Arnold jumped as he watched the gunman's blood splatter around the kitchen as he was thrown up against the wall. Arnold stood up and looked at the assassin, laying dead in a pool of blood. Grandma Gertie came running into the kitchen from the hall, smoking shotgun in hand.

_"Hi, hi, hi all you Hillwood City tues and blues, Nocturnal Ned here signing off. But before I go I just got word that Arnold, yes Arnold for those of you who heard he's dead, is very much alive and back in Hillwood this very moment! Hey-Arnold, it's sure good to have you back!" _Sounded over the radio.

**To Come...**

Arnold's got some 'splaining to do.

Helga writes in her journal for the first time in years!

Arnold encounters more people of the neighborhood.

Arnold's welcome home party.

**References to the original "Hey-Arnold!" show**

Dino Spumoni was a famous singer in the series.

Gotta remember the Arnold/Gerald handshake!

What's Arnold's last name again? XDDD

Stoop Kid can leave his stoop if he wants.

"Ice cream" was Helga and Phoebe's code name for Arnold.

Eugene always found bad luck around Arnold... usually his bad luck was because of Arnold!


End file.
